1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a weigh scale having a digital display for whole number increments of a weight unit and discrete indicators for fractional portions of the weight unit. More particularly, the invention relates to a weigh scale having light-emitting fractional weight indicators which are illuminated to indicate the nearest fractional weight unit of an object being weighed by the scale.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In fast-food restaurants, pizza restaurants, and the like quality and cost control require that food ingredients be weighed precisely and quickly. To accomplish this, prior art weigh scales, usually calibrated in ounces, provide a digital indication including decimal fractions of the weight of the ingredient on the scale.
Control specifications may require that ingredients be weighed to the nearest quarter-ounce, for example, and with a digital weigh scale speed must be sacrificed, at least in part, for accuracy. For example, if specifications call for an ingredient to weigh 12.75 ounces to the nearest quarter-ounce, the operator must stop and mentally calculate, whether 12.87 ounces is closer to 12.75 or 13.00 ounces. While practice increases the speed of such mental calculations, fast food restaurants and the like typically have a high turnover in personnel and have a shortage of experienced people. As a result, the weighing process for ingredients tends to slow down while the scale operator repetitively weighs ingredients to the nearest quarter-ounce, or, alternatively accuracy suffers, and thus so does quality and cost control, in order to gain speed when demand increases.